Expectant mothers feel the unborn baby's movements in the womb as early as twelve weeks into the pregnancy. As the baby grows, the movements are more frequent and more noticeable. Many mothers will offer to allow the father, siblings or friends to place their hands where the movement is occurring. Family members especially take delight in experiencing the movements of the future member of the family. The instant invention permits observation of the baby movement without touching the mother.
Electronic textiles, also known as smart textiles, are fabrics that contain electrically conductive material that enable electronic devices and electrical wires or fibers to be woven in or imbedded within the fabric. The electrically conductive fibers which do not touch one another to complete a circuit touch and the electrical connections can be sensed and can cause electrical circuits to perform various tasks such as turning on a light, ringing a bell, causing a buzzer to sound or causing any selected function to be performed by any selected electrical or electronic device.
Clothing is now made using electronic textiles, as well. Shirts are available, for example, with certain areas which are illuminated when a particular area is compressed or energized with a switch to activate lights directly or in electrical communication with a power source via fiber optic fibers small wires coated with an insulating material. Various other articles of clothing can be used as displays which may be used for advertising wherein the wearer walks around a mall, for example, while his shirt provides an active billboard like display for advertisements. Alternatively, shirts or pants made from similar electronic textiles are used in games like tag, wherein, when a particular spot on a shirt is touched by an opponent, the shirt lights up to signify that the wearer of the shirt has been tagged.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,234,907 teaches a light emitting fabric which is incorporated by reference herein in ins entirety.